Do you eat even when you are not hungry?

Cre8veLifeR
Cre8veLifeR Posts: 1,062 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I am curious about this. I am hungry in the morning, and then don't get hungry again until around 1:30 (I will eat a handful of nuts around 10:30 or so) and then after I eat lunch I am usually not hungry for the rest of the day. This will sometimes leave me around 500 calories under my needed intake. Because of this I will also usually have a mid-afternoon snack of an apple and peanut butter or some such thing, even though I don't feel hungry at all.

So I am curious about it. Do you listen to your body and eat when you feel hungry, or do you eat anyway to maintain a calorie intake?
«1

Replies

  • lmnconn
    lmnconn Posts: 24 Member
    Good question, I often wonder that myself
  • Phrick
    Phrick Posts: 2,765 Member
    I eat anyway in order to maintain a healthy calorie deficit and not slow/stall my weight loss.
  • majope
    majope Posts: 1,325 Member
    I found out through trial and error that if I leave too many calories at the end of the day, the next day I'll be low in energy and so hungry that it feels like I'll never catch up, even if I eat over my limit to try to balance the two days out. So I try to end my day within 200 calories of my goal, even if that means an extra snack when I'm not particularly hungry.

    Most of the time I try to log my exercise before I do it so I can schedule more calories throughout the day, adding a little extra to my meals and snacks to make it easy to get to my goal. But sometimes I'm not sure how far I'll run, or I get busy and miss a snack...and there I am again, right before bed, buttering another Pop-Tart.
  • Cre8veLifeR
    Cre8veLifeR Posts: 1,062 Member
    LOL - I skip the buttered poptarts. In fact - Poptarts are a total weakness addictive food for me. I won't even allow them in the house lol.

    Thanks for the input. :)
  • Mischieviousme777
    Mischieviousme777 Posts: 190 Member
    I usually eat 5-6 times a day (3 meals, 2-3 snacks) as I've been conditioned to do from before my diabetes went into remission. It helps keep your metabolism up, I've found. Also, when I just let time go by without eating (because I'm not particularly hungry), like others have said I feel so drained and blahh the next day.

    That's not to say that you will be the same, mind, because everyone is different. Just speaking from experience.
  • HRLaurie614
    HRLaurie614 Posts: 260 Member
    I am curious about this. I am hungry in the morning, and then don't get hungry again until around 1:30 (I will eat a handful of nuts around 10:30 or so) and then after I eat lunch I am usually not hungry for the rest of the day. This will sometimes leave me around 500 calories under my needed intake. Because of this I will also usually have a mid-afternoon snack of an apple and peanut butter or some such thing, even though I don't feel hungry at all.

    So I am curious about it. Do you listen to your body and eat when you feel hungry, or do you eat anyway to maintain a calorie intake?

    Ditto. And an apple and nut butter I my o to snack.
  • Amy106Days
    Amy106Days Posts: 172 Member
    I have abused my poor body for so many years it doesn't really understand hungry anymore. If I refrain from eating to the point of hunger pangs or stomach rumblings a panic happens in my body like "oh no she is going to start drinking lemon water for dinner again ,find something now and eat it don't stop until we can hibernate! Now I preplan my day with meals and snacks and at the first craving or food thought I eat something. I find I can make better decisions about food if I have a plan and don't wait for hungry or worse hangry to strike.
  • CristinaL1983
    CristinaL1983 Posts: 1,119 Member
    I usually don't worry about it because for me it's natural to have appetite fluctuations. I do look at my weekly average and make sure that is good. Today, I have made myself eat even though I'm not hungry because I had eaten less than half of my daily calories (TOM and no appetite). I don't worry about a few hundred over or under.
  • hdlb
    hdlb Posts: 333 Member
    I don't eat if I'm not hungry. I find that if I'm not hungry one day, I'll usually make up for it the next day and eat more and it all balances in the end. I really don't worry too much about it.
  • AmbyrJayde
    AmbyrJayde Posts: 257 Member
    If its a set eat time (I do Breakfast w/in 45 minutes of waking up) Lunch at 12-130 and dinner between 5-630) then I eat, even if I'm not really all that hungry.

    If I get hungry between those times I snack :D
  • HaleyxErin
    HaleyxErin Posts: 94 Member
    If you're too far under every day try eating a little more every day, your body will get used to it your stomach will stretch and you will eventually be hungry enough to eat all your calories.
  • becplumpton
    becplumpton Posts: 11
    i make sure i eat at least 1000 calories a day, usually i eat more but i try and make it at least 1000, i used to under-eat a lot all the time, and found that when i did eat something unhealthy, or have a night out drinking or something, i'd wake up the next day and feel as though i'd gained a bunch of the weight back that i'd spent days under-eating to lose.. i find that eating a sufficient amount of calories and lots of protien has caused me not not only lose weight faster than i ever had, but feel much better too :) if i'm not really hungry and i've only had a few hundred calories i'll just have a protien shake or something :)
  • Cre8veLifeR
    Cre8veLifeR Posts: 1,062 Member
    Thanks for all the feedback everyone! I think I will listen to my body, since I am trying to instill healthy habits for life, not a diet, and if I wasn't writing down everything I eat I would be fine lol.

    Thank you :-)
  • SugarBoomBoom
    SugarBoomBoom Posts: 67
    When you are hungry, eat. Make sure what you eat is healthy and nutritious food. If you are not hungry don't eat. Listen to your body - we don't always want to eat the same amount every single day.

    I am not a nutritionist - this is just my opinion. I don't log my food any more and strive to eat healthy food when I am hungry, rather than eating to a random number. I trust my body to let me know if/when I need more.
  • glovepuppet
    glovepuppet Posts: 1,710 Member
    nope, i don't. well... if my not hungry lasts until mid afternoon then i'll eat if i can.
  • delonda1
    delonda1 Posts: 525 Member
    Sometimes I still eat (on heavy workout days) because I know I need the energy and feel like Im conditioning my body to many snacks throughout the day

    sometimes i just dont eat... im not hungry
  • Lupercalia
    Lupercalia Posts: 1,857 Member
    If I'm more than around one hundred calories under my goal and/or sorely lacking in protein, I make sure to eat something. Hunger signals are not necessarily functioning correctly for a lot of us here, so I eat according to the numbers for the most part.
  • rosettafaery
    rosettafaery Posts: 102 Member
    I'm quite similar. I can come to meal times and think 'I know I have to eat, but I really dont feel hungry'.
    On certain days I am below my daily calorie intake and I'm currently creating a calorie defecit to lose weight... Once I reach my target weight and my calories go up to maintain my target weight I have no idea how I will increase my calorie intake!
  • MissPeppers
    MissPeppers Posts: 302 Member
    I used to eat whenever it came to mind, really - I've totally screwed up my hunger/fullness cues and I still struggle with it. I ate when it was time to eat regardless of what I actually needed.

    After I started intermittent fasting I've learned that I don't really get very hungry - but then again, I don't really feel full either. My dr. tells me it's actually a sort of eating disorder. My life got so much easier after I started IFing; I have one main meal which is dinner and then maybe a smaller one later. That's it. Easy calorie control, not daily uncontrollable snacking/eating.
  • Cr01502
    Cr01502 Posts: 3,614 Member
    No not really.

    But hunger isn't an entirely accurate method of one should and shouldn't eat.

    Too many factors influence it.
  • _SABOTEUR_
    _SABOTEUR_ Posts: 6,833 Member
    I set my calories and eat them whether I feel hungry or not. If my body was a good indicator of when and what to eat I wouldn't have gotten so fat in the first place.
  • Roxie8611
    Roxie8611 Posts: 39 Member
    Due to my work schedule...i eat when its 'time' to eat personally. I never let myself get hungry if you know what I mean. It works for me at the moment :)
  • iLoveMyPitbull1225
    iLoveMyPitbull1225 Posts: 1,690 Member
    I wish I had that problem....
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
    I can't say that's ever happened to me. I would have your doctor check your hormone levels.
  • Cre8veLifeR
    Cre8veLifeR Posts: 1,062 Member
    LOL - so many different thoughts! I don't have an eating disorder, and my hormone levels are fine (we just renewed our life insurance and had to have a battery of tests - I'm perfectly healthy). I have never been a yo-yo dieter either, but have also always eaten "because it was time to eat" so I am trying to work on listening to my body. I seem to be doing OK and got a lot of interesting replies! So thank you everyone :-)
  • SadKitty27
    SadKitty27 Posts: 416 Member
    I often eat when I'm not hungry, because if I didn't then I wouldn't be eating enough per day calorie wise. Note that I'm not hungry because of my high fat/protein intake. Fat and protein is a lot more satisfying than let's say a bowl of spaghetti, because it takes your body longer to process meats and healthy fats, thus making you feel full for much longer periods of time.

    If one were to actually pay attention I eat quite a bit, I just don't eat junk food all the time.
  • carolose46
    carolose46 Posts: 199 Member
    I eat my calories even when I am not hungry and had the same questionning.
    I was told to only eat when hungry and this is the opposite. so I consumme the extra calories and often confused about how to fill them up. ex: at night after a filling dinner, if I have 300 calories left sometimes, my carbs for the day are already obtain, so what to eat? I don't always want just protein in the evening.
    that's the part where it get's hard and you haveto be creative with limited options.
  • chymerra
    chymerra Posts: 212
    i always listen to my body.

    however, if you previously weren`t eating much, skipping meals etc which has affected your metabolism (slowed it down), then you won`t feel hungry because your body isn`t used to eating.

    to change this (if this is your goal), pick set times to eat your 3 meals + 2 snack. eat at the same time every day and do not skip. you don`t have to eat a whole lot but what you`re trying to do is reset your body (internal clock aka circadian rhythm) to feel hungry at these times. this in turn, will begin to increase your metabolism. it takes time; about a month or so for your body to readjust but the more you stick to your eating schedule, the faster your body adapts. with each snack, just add a tiny bit more food each week. your body will adjust.
  • Meg_78
    Meg_78 Posts: 998 Member
    Yes, I do! I schedule my meals and snacks, other wise I have a tendency to under eat, then I lose weight too fast. As a gainer/maintainer, this is not a good thing for me. I can't really depending on listening to my body anymore, cause it simply tells me it's not hungry way too often.
  • slimline1
    slimline1 Posts: 44 Member
    If I only ate when I felt hungry, I would not be in this position. I live to eat not eat to live but I'm learning.

Categories